A Winter Night
by Startled Boris
Summary: Prequel to The Baltics Secrets. What happens when a Russian officer comes across a lonely, cold, girl sniper in the middle of World War II?  Warnings: fluff, some crack, sex scene, humour and fem Latvia


**Authors Note: This is an extra chapter – by popular demand - to my other story The Baltics Secrets. (Have had some requests for a love scene between Russia and Latvia). Although this can stand as a story on its own it's actually an add-on chapter from The Baltics Secrets story. But instead of putting it in that story and making that whole story an M rating, I decided to keep that story T and put all the fluffy smut in here. Anyone wondering what the bloody hell is going on should read The Baltics Secrets – as this is essentially the prequel of that story - where Russia and Latvia first meet. (In The Baltics Secrets we catch up with them in the 1980s and Latvia's been disguised as a boy and Russia is about to find out that Latvia is actually a girl - sorry just ruined the first five chapters of Baltics Secrets for you - oops)**

**Warnings: fluff, some crack, some humour (even when it gets heavy I have to put some humour in there) and a sex scene. Can't call this PWP as there is a plot – but the plot is elsewhere.**

Characters: Russia and fem Latvia

Genre: Romance, humour

Location: Riga Forest, Latvia

Approximate date: December 1944

A Winter Night or alternatively From Russia with Love

Russia had been on the march all day. He'd left his battalion and was scouting ahead. As part of the 1st Shock Army they'd made great advances against the Germans in the Baltics and had just about pushed them out of Riga to leave a contingent of the German Army stuck in Courland with their backs to the Baltic Sea. He was now trudging through the forest, knee-deep in snow, his sub-machine gun hanging from his shoulder and a cigarette hanging from his mouth. He'd stolen some alcohol and other rations from a dead German officer he'd come across earlier so was seriously thinking about bedding down (it was getting dark) to eat the rations. German Army rations were always better rations than the Red Army ones, in Russia's opinion.

It looked as if this war was going their way. When it was all over, perhaps everyone could be friends. It would be nice if everyone was friends, like his Allies. Apart from America who was just a stupid big-mouth. And France who was a sex maniac. And England who has temper issues and messes about with black magic. 'If he summons me again I'm going to stick my pipe in his head,' Russia thought. And Yao... Russia's daydreaming was suddenly brought to a halt when he heard:

кто идет!

A small voice called out.

"Друг," Russia called back, the stock answer for 'who goes there' in the Red Army.

Bloody hell, who was out there? He strained to see, the light was very bad now and the snow was falling heavily, the temperature dropping.

He slowly approached in the direction of the voice – a dense thicket of bushes - and just about saw the snub of a rifle sticking out – aimed at him.

Friend or foe? He had no idea. He unslung his gun and stepped out into the clearing. Thank God he'd not put on that German officer's coat. He did not want to die in a German uniform. Besides a Red Army greatcoat was far warmer than a German coat, it was made for freezing temperatures.

The sniper – he guessed it was a sniper, waved the snub of the rifle to one side, obviously a signal to move forward. Russia relaxed and stepped forward.

Latvia was freezing to death, or that's how she felt. She'd got lost, or the division she was attached to had moved. Her map was torn and wet and she'd lost her compass. Her rations were almost out and she had no way of making a fire to keep warm. She didn't dare anyway, there were too many Germans around. So she'd stamped up and down to keep warm and then finally sat herself down, wrapped herself in her greatcoat and decided to wait it out until dawn and that's when it had started to snow again. She'd heard something big coming up the hill to the little hideaway she'd made. She peered through her sights and saw a big Russian coming up the hill towards her. She called out the standard call – in Russian – she only knew 'yes', 'no', 'hello', 'who goes there' and 'friend' in Russian – and hoped it wasn't some German who'd stolen a Russian Army greatcoat and knew Russian. Doubtful, but it would be just her luck.

The guy answered back 'friend', so she waved him forward but kept her rifle trained on him.

Jesus he was a big guy, completely muffled up in a scarf around his face, ushanka crammed on his head, wrapped in a Red Army greatcoat. But at least he was a fellow Soviet soldier. Maybe he had some rations with him? She thought all this as he approached.

Russia looked at the little sniper. 'A girl?' He thought, 'poor little thing, looks scared to death'. All he saw was a tiny figure dressed much like himself – but it looked as if the greatcoat was wearing her and not the other way round. Her coat almost coming to her ankles, a long blond plait snaking down her back, camouflage make-up streaking her cheeks. But bright blue eyes were looking up at him, fear spiking in them.

Russia attempted a smile, but his scarf was covering most of his face. And night had fallen so they could barely see each other's features. So he said in his softest voice, "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Are you alone?"

Latvia didn't have a clue what he was saying and as her Russian language skills only ran to the rudimentary she just said, "Vodka?" in a hopeful voice.

Russia nodded, "Da." She wasn't Russian, he could tell that much, her accent sounded Lithuanian. He stuck his hand in his pocket. She tensed immediately and raised her rifle. Russia shrugged and brought out his precious vodka.

She waved at him to follow her into a small hollow she'd made under a clump of bushes. She'd obviously tried to bed down for the night. Russia decided he would join her. Poor little thing would need warming up, he thought, she wouldn't survive the night on her own. He was used to these temperatures, but she was so nervy and jumpy, he would have to go gentle, he decided.

She scrambled under the bushes and he hesitated. She looked up and nodded for him to join her, but put her rifle at arm's reach and indicated he was to put his own gun down. He nodded to indicate he understood and placed his sub-machine gun next to her sniper rifle. He had to bend double and then crawl in on his hands and knees to get under the canopy of bushes.

He settled down next to her, their bodies almost touching. He handed her the vodka bottle and she took a deep draught and swallowed, grimacing at the burn in her throat. He then handed her a bar of chocolate he'd stolen from the dead German. She raised her eyes briefly to him and then managed a soft, grateful smile. She ate the chocolate so fast she almost choked. She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten anything that tasted so good. Russia watched her with wide eyes and then pulled out his knife. She edged back and reached for her rifle, shaking. He shook his head and took out a tin of meat and stabbed the tin with it (he always forgot his tin opener), sliced through the metal, took some of the meat and gave her the rest. She relaxed, visibly and said something which sounded like 'sorry' and ate the meat like a little animal.

Russia leaned back, his broad back resting against the trunk of a large bush. Latvia sat next to him and rested her back against his side. It was the first time since joining this war that she'd felt anything approaching safe. She had no idea why but despite his intimidating size and silence, she had the feeling he wouldn't hurt her. So she relaxed a bit but kept her rifle in sight.

Russia asked the girl her name, when she answered with 'What?' he realised she didn't understand Russian very well and so pointed at himself and said 'Ivan'.

She understood this and said, 'Aija'. It was as good a name as any she thought, and one that she'd volunteered under. She certainly wasn't going to give out her real name.

Cute, he thought, but unusual. She must be Lithuanian or Polish. There were so many joining up from Eastern Europe fighting against the Germans.

She shivered, the cold really biting now. Russia turned and gently pulled her into his arms, inadvertently pulling her onto his lap. She stiffened and he soothed her by rubbing her back gently with one large, gloved hand and murmuring reassuring words into her ear, "I won't hurt you, little one."

She said something but he couldn't understand a word, thinking she was speaking some dialect of Lithuanian or maybe Polish. But she didn't attempt to pull away.

In fact, Latvia had been alarmed when the Russian had pulled her onto his lap and she'd been tempted to smack him. However, she was aware he was a lot bigger and stronger than her and if he was going to rape her there was not a lot she could do, however, she reached for her rifle. But then he stroked her back gently and murmured something in a soft voice. Actually he was very warm and she felt very safe in his arms, so she relaxed a bit, breathing heavily. She rested her head on his chest and breathed in a heady mix of vodka, sweat, blood and smoke. But she didn't exactly smell of flowers either.

They sat like that for what seemed hours, but what was actually just a few minutes. Latvia snuggled deeper into Russia's chest and pulled her legs up so she was curled up onto his lap. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and buried his face in her neck. She wrapped her arms around herself, bloody winter, she was still cold, she was sure there was a draught of wind that was wending its way all the way from Siberia over the Urals, down past the ruins of Leningrad, picking up the cold air of the Baltic Sea on the way, sneaking up under her coat and hitting her right in the kidneys. Bloody Russian, she thought, he didn't seem to be bothered at all and was just breathing down her neck, hot breath tickling her left ear, big warm arms hugging her. It felt like she was being hugged by a giant bear.

Russia said softly, in Russian, "Still cold?"

Latvia vaguely understood what he meant and she shivered and nodded.

Russia carefully laid her down on the floor, still curled up and snuggled up behind her. He took off his greatcoat and laid it over the top of them both. He pulled her back into his arms, tucking one arm under her waist so that his arms encircled her and draped one leg over hers so that she was partly under him.

Latvia was about to struggle, momentarily alarmed and then relaxed as she felt his comforting weight on her. Besides, the warmth from his body was finally warming her up. And he was sheltering her from the snow that was falling through the bushes above them. Laid in complete darkness she closed her eyes and tried to sleep, her gloved hands resting on his arms.

"Hmmm," Ivan breathed into her neck and gently kissed her just behind her ear.

Latvia squeezed his forearms and under the coat and snuggled her bottom back against his stomach. Russia continued to kiss her neck gently, took off his gloves and gently put one large hand under her jacket and against her bare stomach. She gave a little squeak, but then relaxed as he gently stroked her with circular motions. "Hmmm," she hummed and shuffled round to face him, his hand stayed on her belly and she put her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. He tasted like a brewery, but his lips were soft and warm.

It was his turn to hum. He buried his face in her hair and his hands worked lower. Latvia shuffled around as he fumbled with her zip and she lowered her hands from his neck and fumbled with his zip. They both panted and huffed as she slid his trousers down. Russia hurriedly pulled his coat over them both, covering them completely and took his hands momentarily from inside her pants where his fingers had found her warmth. He shuffled about trying to find a packet of condoms.

Latvia looked up at him, "Condoms?" she asked and hoped to God he had some.

He nodded, sat up for a minute, his cheeks a bit red and was thankful that she couldn't see his embarrassment in the darkness. Clumsily, he took out the packet and tore one open – unfortunately tearing the condom inside. He swore roughly and pulled out another one.

Latvia contented herself with stroking his hard stomach through his clothes but hoped to God he would bloody hurry up, there was a draught from where he was sat up. She wanted him back on top of her. "Get on with it!" she said finally.

Russia didn't understand the words, but understood the meaning and pulled the condom over his erect penis. Bloody hell, it was getting cold. If he didn't hurry up he would get frostbite. He hurriedly lowered himself on top of her and pulled her legs around him – she'd only managed to get one leg out of her trousers – she certainly wasn't going to get any more clothes off than she had to. Russia, as gently as he could, entered her. She felt so warm and... tight.

Latvia groaned and shifted and then gave a little 'eek'.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Hmmmmmmm," she gave a long sigh, shifted a bit under his weight and pulled him down further. He rested his elbows either side of her head to take some of his weight and started to move slowly.

Oh this was nice, he was a bit hesitant. It had been a while and he didn't want to hurt her, so at first he was clumsy and slow.

Latvia was just enjoying the warmth flooding through her. He felt huge, but nice with it and she slowly relaxed, wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder. She was too tired to move and besides his body had pinned her down, so she contented herself with just laying back and enjoying the ride. She occasionally squeezed his broad shoulders for reassurance and kissed his stubbly cheek. Neither of them had taken off any other clothing. Their hats were still on and Ivan still had his scarf on. He had no intention of risking frostbite for a bit of sex. He wrapped their coats around them more securely, placed one hand under her back more securely and got down to business.

She squeaked as he started to thrust with more vigour and shuffled a bit. He stopped, pulled out of her and gently turned her round so they were laid as they were – her back to his stomach and carefully entered her from behind. She relaxed as the big Russian filled her. "Oooooh, Ivan," she murmured. Russia just grunted in reply and concentrated on not hurting her. If he was gentle and she enjoyed it, he reasoned, she might want to do it again. He totally ignored the fact that they were in the middle of a war. He was just enjoying himself way too much. It had been a while since he'd actually had sex and his clumsy, unpractised moves could easily hurt her. But just like riding a bicycle, it started to come back to him and he got into a slow, steady rhythm. Latvia snuggled back against him, pulling her coat around her front, one hand gripping the coat, the other gripping one of his hands and felt the warmth and fuzziness flood her.

She wasn't a virgin by any stretch of the imagination but she hadn't exactly been 'busy' either, and although she would have preferred sex in the conventional way – in a bedroom with a steady boyfriend and not under some bushes with a guy she'd just met – this was a welcome diversion from killing and almost getting killed. Besides she was too tired to think and getting shot at and shooting at Germans all day for the last 12 months had left her nerves fairly shredded. For once, in this stupid war, she actually felt something approaching safe. Also, she reasoned, I might get killed tomorrow, so I might as well just enjoy myself. So she did.

Russia was ecstatic that he'd got a woman to have sex with him without (much) alcohol or without payment. He was also pleased that she hadn't actually thumped him or tried to run away. In fact, although he wasn't much of a judge when it came to sex (he tended to switch off his sex drive – he was so old now it was just easier that way than put up with all those rejections) he decided from the way she was groaning and moving she must be enjoying herself. He renewed his thrusts and relaxed a bit more, thankful that, for once, Belarus wasn't going to be bursting in at any minute with a knife (not that there was anything to burst into – bushes don't have doors or doorknobs). Usually the thought of Belarus would make him go limp, but not this time, he was too busy enjoying the girl squirming under him.

Russia pulled her tighter to him and started on the final furlong. Latvia squeaked a bit at this but then melted back against him as his thrusts got harder.

He stopped with ultimate self-control, "Did I hurt you?" he said.

Latvia understood nothing of the garbled Russian and just pressed herself against him and murmured 'Ooooh Ivan," hoping that would be enough to get him restarted.

Russia hesitated and then continued, gently calling her name over and over.

"Don't stop!" she said.

"Nnnnnnnnggggg." Was all Russia could say, at that moment a direct strike from meteorite couldn't stop him.

Latvia gave one long 'oooooh' as it felt as if a big fuzzy ball of warmth had exploded in her stomach. She threw her head back against his chest and gripped his hand painfully. Russia pulled her back onto him and thrust one last time as his orgasm ripped through him and collapsed very unsoldierly on her, still gripping her so hard her breath was squeezed out of her.

Latvia tried to move and then found she had to elbow him off her.

"Ow," Russia yelped and rolled off her and pulled himself out of her, carefully keeping the condom on.

"Well, that was bloody good," Latvia said, her toes tingling, her knees quivering like jelly.

Russia just groaned in response, he had no idea what she said, but it sounded complimentary. He cleaned himself up as best he could, helped her pull her trousers and pants up, pulled their coats around them and snuggled back down with her. He felt as if his head had just exploded and was now somewhere in Siberia.

Latvia felt toastie warm and settled down to sleep, her bottom resting nicely in the Russian's lap. Russia, for his part also snuggled down, an afterglow making his feet tingle. He'd decided that once it was light he would take her back to headquarters and get her out of this awful war, and hopefully (here he was less confident but perhaps if he bribed her with food) he could move her into his apartment in Moscow. It was a thought and he smiled happily, holding her tight.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. As Latvia slept and Russia ruminated, enemy troops were moving through the forest. A scout party of Germans were making their way towards them. Russia, all his senses on full alert, jerked his head up. He pulled his arms carefully from around the sleeping girl, carefully wrapped her back in her own coat, pulled his own coat on and picked up his gun. He crawled out from their hideaway with much regret and set off to kick some German arse.

Russia had every intention of going back for her when he'd finished, but... he wasn't to see her for another 10 years...

**Author's Note:**

**Well, hope everybody enjoyed that. If you don't have a clue what's going on - read The Baltics Secrets. Please feel free to review.**

**кто идет! - who goes there in Russian**

**Друг – Friend in Russian**

**Sorry guys, have left out all the Russian, so have had all the dialogue in English – so me and you can understand it. Just assume Latvia is speaking Latvian and a bit of Russian and Russia's Latvian is not that good. I couldn't be arsed to be honest translating everything – I didn't want to detract from the story. Also am sure that this sex scene won't be to everyone's romantic taste, but this is war and I wanted it to be realistic.**

**There was a 1st Shock Army in the Red Army which fought the Germans in the Baltic States – and other places during WWII. Shock Armies were just that – sent in to engage the enemy at close range and penetrate the enemy's defences, they were also extremely mobile, i.e. the equivalent of special forces today.**


End file.
